The King of Spades
by CelticQueen09
Summary: Having to "do something with his life" this summer, Eddy decides to visit Double D, who moved away from Peach Creek seven years ago. Little does Eddy know that his childhood friend has changed tremendously, and not for the better.


Hello! I actually wrote this story several years ago and have been meaning to post it since. Also, I used this story during my last semester at school for a literature class I had to take (I just changed Double D's name, lol). Despite the dark subject matter, my favorite professor loved it

Enough about me. Please lmk what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own EEnE, but you already knew that.

"So how are things going there?" Asked a familiar voice over the telephone.

The voice on the other end sighed. "Fine," Eddy responded while slowly dragging out his response.

"Why do you say it that way, Eddy?"

"Say it _what _way, mom?" He reiterated, trying to control his sarcasm while talking to his mother.

"Don't talk to me that way, Edward." Growing up, Eddy's mother tried arduously to call Eddy his real name, despite the fact that everyone else around him was calling him Eddy. But being the open-minded person that she is (and one would have to be after raising two very colorful boys), she finally gave in and called him Eddy. Now, Eddy's mother only called him by his real name when she meant to be stern. Eddy just listened, knowing that she was right.

She continued. "Are you bored over there? Did you forget something?" She tried to guess what could be vexing her youngest son.

"No, it's not that…" He said. Eddy dropped his voice low, in case anyone could hear him. "It's Double D." He whispered.

"But Double D is such a good boy!" She said. "Let me guess… You two are fighting again." Eddy's mother giggled, as if she had just hit the target. "Growing up, if you two spent too much time together, you would fight. I guess some things don't change!" Eddy's mother said whimsically.

Eddy hesitated, not knowing exactly how to express what his situation was. "No, that's not really it…" Eddy's mother stopped giggling and listened intently now, knowing that something more serious must be going on.

"It's Double D," Eddy said again, but truly struggling with the words.

"What about Double D, Eddy?" Eddy's mother asked, her voice sounding both concerned and impatient.

"I can't tell you," He said quickly. "But he's definitely different." Then he added, "He's changed."

Eddy watched in anticipation as the buildings, highways, crowded subdivisions and every other aspect of the big city came more into view while he could feel the plane descending lower and lower. He could somewhat hear the pilot speaking over the Offspring, but he didn't feel like removing his Ipod. He could feel his heart beat faster with excitement. _I haven't seen Sockhead in seven years!_ He thought in disbelief. Seven years ago, due to his parents getting a better job offer, Double D and his parents moved 400 miles away from Peach Creek Cul-De-Sak. Double D and Eddy tried to keep in touch, all the while Double D highly encouraged his childhood friend to come visit. Eddy half-heartedly said he would, but with school and everything else, he never "found the time". It wasn't until the end of the last semester, with Eddy receiving C's and D's- and his first F- that his parents sat him down for a heart-to-heart. Their bottom line was for their son to either get serious with school, or find a job in the summer. Even while being a sophomore in college, the idea of summer school never excited him and Eddy has always hated job hunting. In an effort to put-off finding a summer job, Eddy came up with the idea of visiting Double D. This way, if he spent a few weeks with him, by the time he'd come back, summer would practically be over. Eddy's parents saw through his plan. Nevertheless, they supported the idea of him catching up with someone who was once very close to their son, and who they also respected and cared for a lot themselves, as if he were one of their own.

When the plane finally landed, Eddy was one of the first ones up to quickly grab his carry-on luggage from overhead and get ahead of the "slow-looking-old-people" in the line in the aisle to leave the plane.

Eddy and an older business-man seemed to be ahead of everyone else as they got off the plane and began following the signs in the airport to find luggage claim. As he was walking briskly with the older, "smooth-looking" business guy, Eddy wondered, _Do I wanna walk this fast? I mean, what if Double D looks totally busted? Will he know that I'm thinking that his face looks totally busted?_ Somehow, he doubted that that would be the case, but he was still immensely nervous to see what he looked like after all these years.

Eddy found the right luggage claim for his plane, but the luggage hadn't started to go through yet. By the time the luggage was going through the conveyor belt, everyone from his flight also found the luggage claim. Eddy was simultaneously watching for his luggage and watching for anyone who might be Double D. Eddy glanced at his cell phone, which read 12:45. His plane landed 15 minutes early. But still, Double D was always early growing up. _Sockhead'll be popping up in any second._ He thought. He watched as other passengers from his flight reunited with whoever was there waiting on them; parents greeting a college student, a guy picking up and swinging around his young wife, and many joyful scenes of the sort. Eddy check his cell phone again, which was now 12:50. _Where are you, Sockhead?_

"Eddy…?"

Eddy, still holding his cell phone, turned his head over to the left. He wasn't really sure to make of what he saw. He saw a tall, somewhat lanky guy, wearing a button-down brown, green and white plaid shirt, not tucked-in. He had on baggy but simple khakis covering most of his brown leather boots. But perhaps what made this individual appear to be a stranger the most was the fact that he was wearing a short beret-styled grey hat, with this messy dark hair peeking out from underneath.

"Double D?!" Eddy said in shock of Double D's almost-"artsy" new look, all the while hoping not to be made a fool in the middle of the airport.

"It's me, Eddy." He smiled, showing his ever-present gap.

"Double D!" Eddy exclaimed, as he rushed forward to embrace his childhood friend.

With a few awkward nearby stares, Double D felt his face become hot. Of course, this was the Eddy that he knew existed deep-down inside, but he didn't know that Eddy was alright with displaying this side of himself out in public. _Then again,_ Double D thought, _Perhaps he's showing his gratitude for not having to go job hunting for three weeks,_ he thought. After getting over the initial shock, Double D wrapped his arms around his friend. He had grown alright, but he was still several inches shorter than him, as always.

"I'm glad to see you too, Eddy." Double D said, while slightly giggling at his overly-animated friend. After hearing the surprise in Double D's voice, Eddy quickly "came-to."

"So, uh…." He scratched his head, glancing at the other fellow flight passengers that were enjoying their reunion. Double D broke the awkward silence while gesturing over at the conveyor belt. "Shall we gather your belongings?" He asked.

Although Double D lived a good 45 minutes from the airport, the ride home went by very fast for the two childhood friends, as they had a lot to catch up on. But being that the airport was on the south side of downtown, and Double D lived in a suburb north of the city, the two college students were off to a slow start. "So," Double D eagerly started a new thought, but not while taking his eyes off the road. "How is our partner-in-crime, Eddy?" He cheerfully asked. Then he quickly added, "Did you tell him that you were coming?" "Lumpy's still Lumpy," Eddy replied, while looking out of his side window, taking in all the nearby buildings and skyscrapers.

"He totally flipped out when I told him that I was going to see you. 'Said he wanted to come too, but he had to work a lot during the summer. Ya know, to pay for school." Double D said nothing, but smiled at the thought of seeing Ed. Hopefully he'll get to reunite with him someday as well.

"Oh yeah," Eddy quickly glanced at Double D driving, but then turned his head to all the cars that were in front of them on the freeway. "He wanted me to tell you that he said hi. 'Said he missed you." Eddy quickly mumbled the last part as to carefully try to not get sentimental.

When the two young men finally exited the freeway, Eddy noticed that Double D was taking quite a few back-roads, maneuvering around many high-end shopping areas, and perhaps a mall or two. Even the McDonald's looked like a Five-Star restaurant. _Geez,_ Eddy thought. _The people around here must be filthy rich! _He marveled at the thought.

As they continued chatting about jobs, college, and previous relationships, Eddy couldn't help but noticed just how slow Double D was driving. Not only that, but he would only quickly glance over at Eddy when they where stopped at a very long red-light. _Geez Louise! My mom drives faster than Sockhead! _Eddy wanted to say, but only thought. At the same time, Eddy felt awkward watching Double D actually _drive._ The sight of watching someone that you had always known- and since have always remembered as a young teenager- actually driving, like an adult, struck Eddy as quite bizarre. For him, it was just…. Different.

"Now remember Eddy," Double D said as he waited at an intersection to turn left with his left turn signal on, "I am attending school this summer on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I should be able to return home around 3:30 in the afternoon."

"Cool with me." Eddy responded. "I'll probably be sleeping at least until 2:00, anyways."

Double D sighed and shook his head at his friend's response. In some ways, Eddy seemed to be the exact, same old Eddy. His slightly messy, thick dirty-blonde hair seemed to have a bit of hair gel in it, but Double D could tell that Eddy didn't spend too much time doing his hair. Double D also noticed how he was wearing baggy, worn-out jeans and a burgundy t-shirt that said at the top, "Wisconsin" with an outline of the state under it. Of course, Double D hadn't the foggiest idea why Eddy was wearing that t-shirt; he's never lived in Wisconsin. And for all Double D knew, Eddy's never been to Wisconsin, either. But then again, with everything that has gone on in the last 7 years (and with the few times that they've really talked to each other), he doesn't know that for sure.

"And here we are!" Double D exclaimed as he pulled in the driveway to his house. Double D parked in the driveway, unbuckled his seatbelt, and popped the trunk to help Eddy with his luggage. Eddy stayed seated in the car.  
"This… Is YOUR house?" Eddy asked in disbelief, unable to fathom it. Double D's house was almost twice the size bigger than his old one. It had a beautiful garden perfectly landscaped around the sidewalk in the front yard that lead to the front door. Eddy also noticed how many large windows there were, and for some of the windows for the upstairs rooms, there were flat ledges right under them that were also part of the roof.

"Yes, this is my house," Double D responded, once Eddy finally got out of the car. Eddy grabbed hold of his large suitcase, knowing that Double D most likely wouldn't be much help to him with it. He remembered how (in the past at least) Double D didn't do well with large, heavy objects.

"You see Eddy," Double D started as he led Eddy to the back door of the garage. "Mother and father were offered a promotion, but it was necessary that they had to move to receive it. That, of course, was 7 years ago." He explained as he unlocked the garage door and led Eddy to the back door. Eddy noticed that there were no cars in the sizeable garage.

Double D wasn't quite sure if Eddy was actually listening to him, because he seemed to now be staring at the interior of his kitchen and also looking over into the family room.

"Allow me to show you your room," The taller friend said, and that seemed to get Eddy's attention as he followed him up the stairs, dragging along his over-sized suitcase.

"Ta-da!" Double D exclaimed while entering a very femininely-decorated room with a queen-sized bed. "You also have your own bathroom, I might add."

"A TV!" Eddy yelled as he noticed the medium-sized TV that was set on a nightstand in front of the bed.

"I brought along my video games, so this is sweet!"

"You brought your video games on the airplane, Eddy?" Double D flatly asked.

"Why not?" Eddy asked.

"Well," Double D thought aloud. "I must admit that I do enjoy playing solitaire on my computer…"

"Boring!" Eddy retorted. "You should really play some _real_ video games, Double D." Eddy unzipped his suitcase and grabbed his video game system, it's wires, the controllers, and several games that he had packed up beside his clothes and his other necessities as he began hooking it all up to the TV.

"I don't know, Eddy," Double D said. "I'm not quite sure if I really understood all the homework problems for my Statistics class tomorrow, and-"

"Here's your controller, Double D." Eddy quickly placed a controller in Double D's hands, acting as if he didn't hear a word that he just said.

"I can't wait to beat you in the new Street Fighter game!" Eddy said as he placed himself in front of the TV on the floor and right next to Double D.

"Don't be so confident, Eddy," Double D retorted.

Feeling the sensation of not being able to breath- along with the familiarity of his chest tightening- Double D firmly grabbed the sides of the kitchen sink as he hunched himself over the left side of the sink to vomit. It was 6:30 in the morning and Double D hoped that Eddy would be so fast asleep that his act of throwing up loudly wouldn't wake him up. Double D gasped for air as soon as he could breath again. The college student was grasping the sides of the sink so tightly that the veins in his hands were popping out. Leaning heavily onto his hands, he observed about 16 ounces of his vomit, now laying in the sink. Suddenly unable to breath again, Double D clutched the sink again as he stuck his head far into the sink to throw up a bit more. This time, he didn't throw up quite as much. Double D tried to spit the last bit of vomit out of his mouth as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He felt dizzy, but that was such a normal feeling for him that he doesn't hardly take notice of it anymore. Double D held his breath as he ran water and quickly flipped on the garbage disposal switch, hoping immensely not to awake Eddy. He stepped over to the refrigerator and took out a coke can. He popped it open and poured it down the left side of the sink, to cover up the smell. He glanced at the clock on the oven- 6:45. _Oh dear, I'm late!_ He thought. He picked up his backpack from the floor and headed out as fast as he could.

_Where am I…?_ Eddy wondered as he slowly opened his eyes to the strange (and very effeminate) surroundings of his room. _That's right,_ he thought. _I'm staying with Sockhead._ He yawned and stretched as he thought about last night. Double D and Eddy played video games until who-knows-what hour. They laughed, they yelled, and they were both determined to beat the other. By the end of the long night, both of the young men had won the same amount of matches, races, etc. Eddy could barely remember how the night ended. _I must've been falling asleep after that last time I beat 'em,_ he thought. But now Eddy figured to go ahead and get going with his everyday routine and take a shower. He didn't know what time it was, but who cares? He'll check and see if Double D is here after he's done doing what he has to do.

After bathing and getting dressed, Eddy went down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen. He didn't hear anyone, but he knew that that didn't mean anything, with Double D being as quiet as he is. He looked at the oven clock. "It's three already?" He said aloud. "What time did he say he'd be home?" He shrugged it off and decided to raid the pantry to make himself some breakfast. "Chunky Puffs?!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "Sockhead still eats these? It's been forever since I've had this stuff!" He thought aloud. After taking a few minutes to locate the dishes, Eddy poured some Chunky Puff cereal as well as some milk that he found in the fridge. He didn't care for the silence, so he grabbed a spoon and his bowl of cereal and sat on the couch in the family room in front of the flat-screen TV. He grabbed the remote and simultaneously flipped through the channels as he ate breakfast. It was when he found the Home Shopping Network channel that he put down the remote. "They sell the biggest bunch of crap on here! It's a goldmine!" He exclaimed as he decided to watch it for inspiration, all the while making notes aloud to himself such as, "I could make stuff like that and sell it," and "Why didn't I think of that?". Eddy got so wrapped up in his imagination while watching the different items they were selling that he almost didn't notice Double D coming in through the garage. "Oh, hiya Double D," He said. Double D slowly walked into the family room. "What exactly are you watching, Eddy?" He asked, with a light bit of sarcasm in his tone. "Uhh, nothing," Eddy replied as he quickly scoured the couch to find the remote to turn off the TV.

"So, how was school?" He asked energetically, turning around on the couch.

Double D's face dropped as he looked over to the floor. "It was okay."

"Just okay?" Eddy had always known Double D to only love school. "What happened?" He asked.

"Well Eddy, I…" He trailed off for a second. "I had a test today in my upper-level Statistics class, and… I have the feeling that I didn't do so well…" He very slowly said the last five words. Eddy rolled his eyes. "What-EVER, Double D," He retorted loudly. " You probably did the best in the whole stickin' class!" Now, the Double D that Eddy knew growing up would've probably responded to this statement like, "Really? Do you really think that I possibly made the highest grade in the class?" But instead, Double D wearily looked at Eddy and in a very low whisper, as if to simply go along with what Eddy was saying, responded, "Yes".

Eddy just sat there, not really sure just what to say now. There was a pause between the two, and it was probably more awkward for Eddy than it was Double D. Finally, Double D said, "If it's alright with you, Eddy, I would like to take a second and freshen up." "Yeah, sure…" Eddy responded in an almost confused matter as Double D walked up the stairs. _What the heck was that all about?_ Eddy wondered. And was it just him, or did Double D have some really dark circles under his eyes? The dark circles didn't really bother him as much as the fact that his coloring seemed off to Eddy. His skin seemed to have a bit of a yellow-ish tint… Or was it just his imagination? _Nah, I'm probably just seeing things. It's 'coz I stayed up late last night._

"Hey," Eddy interrupted both his and Double D's laughter. "Do you remember that time we built that el-mongo stink bomb, and the neighborhood totally reeked?"

Double D giggled and nodded, but was careful not to respond until he had properly chewed and swallowed the food that was in his mouth, especially in the restaurant setting that the two young men were in (albeit it be a very casual restaurant).

_79... 79... 79..._

"Only for it to explode in _your _garage, Eddy?" Eddy stopped laughing, recalling the bad part of the memory.

"If I recall, your mother wasn't quite happy with that."

_Did… I really make… A 79?_

"Ah, she got over it." Eddy shrugged. "The smell was gone the next day."Eddy dipped a couple of French fries in ketchup before eating them.

"The next day?!" Double D exclaimed. "The smell permeated for at least two days, Eddy!"

_I simply cannot drop this class… But I can't afford to lose my scholarship either._

"Excuse me, Mr. Detail-perfect-guy!" Eddy retorted. "One day, two days, big deal! Same thing."

Double D looked at Eddy as he took a sip of his iced, un-sweet tea. While tasting the strong, yet plain taste of tea, the taller college student noticed that his gregarious friend still seemed as into-the-moment as ever. Eddy wasn't pinning over the stupid mistakes he made yesterday, nor was he worried about tomorrow. He simply lives in the moment, just like he has always done.

Playing with the straw in his iced-tea, the Double D asked, "Do you ever think about those days, Eddy?"

_What is wrong with me? Have I really become that lazy, that undisciplined? _

Eddy just finished taking a drink of his coke when Double D posed him that question.

"What, when we scammed the kids back in the day?" He said. "Yeah, sometimes."

_Have I really become just like everyone else?_

"Really?" Double D asked, surprised. Then he folded his hands under the table and somewhat-mumbled, "I'm a bit surprised."

_What will mother and father think?_

"Huh?" Eddy asked.

_Who am I if they cannot tell other people about their 4.0, honor-student son?_

"Oh, it's nothing," Double D responded. "So, um…" He glanced out the window as he played with his sweet potato with his fork. "Tomorrow is Saturday, correct? Perhaps we should go see a movie tomorrow. How does that sound, Eddy?"

_I don't know what to do!_

Eddy felt the light piercing through his eyelids. He slowly opened them to see that the sun was shining so brightly that it was seeping over the blinds and into the guest room. Eddy grunted something inaudible as he turned to his left, trying to use the covers to block the sun from his eyes. But even in his half-consciousness, he knew that he most likely had overslept. Reluctantly, he rolled out of bed and proceeded to take a shower.

"3:30?!" Eddy exclaimed once he finally turned on his cell phone. "I didn't know it was that late!" He shrugged it off and proceeded to head downstairs. Before he did though, he had to stop midway through his walking to look at himself in the small mirror that was on top of the guestroom dresser. Eddy noticed how his navy-blue polo shirt really suited him well, along with his faded jeans that had a few holes here-and-there. Feeling even better about himself, he opened the guess-room door as he walked downstairs. As he began his breakfast routine as-of-late (which included pouring himself a bowl of Chunky Puffs cereal), Eddy suddenly thought about Double D. _It's probably too early for Sockhead to come home yet, _he thought. But then he looked at the oven clock. "3:45?" He said, realizing that he had already forgotten about when he checked his cell phone after he got out of the shower. Eddy put down the bowl of cereal and scratched his head. _Guess he's stuck in traffic…_ But to make sure that his friend wasn't home yet, Eddy started for the stairs, when he nearly tripped on something heavy on the floor, propped up against the back of the couch. It was Double D's backpack. _So he is home?_ Eddy wondered, thoroughly confused. He headed upstairs, noticing how quiet it was. _ Did he forget his backpack? Seems like Double D would just go to school late if he forgot it in the first place._

Nevertheless, Eddy made his way to Double D's room, with the door closed. Eddy couldn't remembered if his friend left his door closed or open when he was gone, but he decided not to think about it as he opened the door.

"Heya, Sock-"

Midway through his sentence, Eddy stopped what he was saying, as he wasn't sure if he was really seeing was he was seeing. Laying on his bed, Double D was all sprawled out, with his face facing the ceiling. Eddy noticed that there were several prescription bottles standing on Double D's in table, as well as a few that were nearby on the floor, as if they had recently fallen off. Double D's right arm was out-stretched and hanging off the bed, near the same in table. In his hand was yet another bottle of prescription pills. His other left arm was folded over above his head, resting on his pillow.

Slowly, Double D turned his head to the right, and he finally saw Eddy. He mumbled something inaudible to Eddy, as if he were trying to greet him. Eddy froze as he saw Double D's eyes, which were locked unto his own. His eyes were clearly bloodshot and glazed over. And even though Double D seemed to be looking at Eddy, Eddy wondered if he really saw him, because he was staring at him through such dead and lifeless eyes.

"What the _hell_….?"

"Dy… E- Eddy…" Double D managed to make out through a very hoarse and lethargic voice.

"What's going on?!" Eddy yelled.

"Mmm… Nothing…" Double D barely whispered.

Eddy stared at his friend all sprawled out on his bed, and he noticed something for the first time. At that moment, Eddy realized that he didn't know his childhood friend at all. In fact, Double D looked somewhat foreign to him.

"Jesus, Double D…" He mumbled. He fought back the choking sensation in his throat as he softly said:

"W-what the hell happened to you these last few years?"


End file.
